A recent study out of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania foundthat people are less inclined to donate money to charitable organizations that help Black youth.

Though very young Black children receive enthusiastic support from charitable donors, that enthusiasm simply disappears once they reach they’re teenage years, and negative stereotypes of Black youth (as lazy, unreliable, stupid, etc.) kick in.

“For Charles Gallagher, chair of LaSalle University’s sociology department, the study’s findings ring true. ‘The perception is that being a drug-dealing thug is the norm,” he says. “Given this belief, individuals may be more willing to give money to children rather than teens because the thinking might be it’s too late to turn the [black] teens’ life around, while supporting young children can make a great difference.'”

A republican who goes by Alan B. Wiliams decided to use lines from Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” recently. Something of a rapture has happened in Hip-Hop: no one can deny that any reference to an emcee’s lyrics (to inform policy) means that the realities of disadvantaged America are being represented. More importantly, the decision to include Hip-Hop lyrics in the discussion symbolizes the relevance and responsibility of the emcee.

In the wake of growing national outrage, the Department of Justice announced last night that it will open an investigation into the killing of Trayvon Martin.

Since news broke of the incident earlier this month, there have been massive demonstrations, countless articles and blogs written on the incident, and a petition at change.org that has already garnered over 500,000 signatures.

The masses are speaking out; the Feds can no longer ignore this tragedy.

Jasiri X tells the heartbreaking story of Trayvon Martin, a unarmed 17 yr old boy, who was shot and killed by Neighborhood Block Captain George Zimmerman on February 26, 2012. George Zimmerman has to this date never been arrested or charged for the Murder of Trayvon.

“Trayvon” was directed by Paradise Gray and co directed and engineered by Mirage

I hope this letter finds you well. With the Republican race looking more and more like the Real Housewives of something and March Madness in full swing (sorry about your bracket), I imagine that your spirits are rather high. I hope a note from one of your crankiest constituents doesn’t ruin that.

Perhaps you are surprised that I would be writing to you. After all, as my gmail chats and (protected) tweets suggest (maybe you’ve seen them?), I’m not your biggest fan. Nonetheless, I feel compelled to reach out to you, as the concerns of this letter demand the kind of help only the most powerful person in the world can provide. Should my request be granted, I promise to vote for you in the fall. (I know Illinois is already blue for you, but sometimes it’s the act that counts.)

I often hear that as a society we need to learn to confront racism and talk about both race and racism head-on, but sometimes I wonder if any of us really know how to talk about racism. And I don’t mean in the academic way that delineates the effects of racism in its many different forms, but I mean talking about race in a way that promotes real and meaningful exchange. For instance, how do you challenge (let’s say) a relatively well-meaning white person to think about their privilege and assess some of their own biases without allowing the ugly head of “offense” to tamper with the conversation? Now many of course, would say, that this is not the point. Quite valiantly, I have many friends who are tired of having to explain themselves—their identities, opinions, values—to people whom they feel might never understand anyway. And I can completely understand this viewpoint.

Now that it is Women’s Her-story month I thought I would stoke the fires with a blog about something many black women would have a problem with, but something I need to write and have been thinking about for some time . . . our love for President Barack Obama. Perhaps, not love, but our longing for him. Yep, I am questioning our longing for him as black women. I tell you, it greatly saddens me to see black women swoon over Barack Obama and his family because it lets me know how desperate we are as black women for the illusion of the acceptable black family model and an acceptable black man.

And, yes, all ages of black women tend to swoon over him even seasoned (cough cough cough) 55 year-old black women shave countless decades off their lives and become 16 year-old navel gazing black girls referring to Obama, the President of the United States, as His Cuteness as if President Barack Obama, the leader of the known world, is some simple cast member of Grey’s Anatomy where the most attractive male cast members are seductively and playfully referred to as McDreamy, McSteamy, and, now, His Cuteness. I know many of you are saying, “It’s all fun and banter.” And, in response, I would say both yes and no. Don’t get me wrong, I relish the womanist talk downright juicy idioms and metaphors we use to talk about deliciously beautiful black men. I have been known to call a certain coco-looking black male actor, “The Stick.”

As we reported to you last week, 17 year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed last month in his gated community by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, who’d found him to be “suspicious.” Zimmerman has yet to be arrested or charged in relation to the shooting.

It is absolutely unacceptable and outrageous that Trayvon Martin’s killer has not at the very least been charged with a crime in the wake of this young man’s tragic death.

About The Black Youth Project

The Black Youth Project examines the attitudes, resources and culture of the young black millennials.

We have three core areas of focus: knowledge, voice, and action. Knowledge is the research we perform on Black millennials ages 18-35. Voice is the high-quality news and opinions written by Black millennials on this platform. Action is the work done through our sister organization BYP100.